Catalyst and process of making same



Patented July 31, 1923.

UNITED SATES PATENT OFFICE.-

' HARRY D. GIBBS, F PENNSGROVE, NEW JER SEY, ASSIGNOR TO E. I; DU PON'I. DI

NEMOURS & COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATIONOI' DELA- WARE.

CATALYST AND PROCESS or MAKING same.

No Drawing.

a To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY D. GIBBs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Penns rove, in the county of Salern and State of l ewiJerse have invented a certain new and useful atalyst and ,Processof Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

'lhis invention relates to the production of a catalyst useful in promoting various oxidation reactions, and it consists essentially in incorporating infusorial earth or equivalent material in molten vanadic oxide, and cooling and reducing the resulting mass to a finely divided condition.

faces, for example, bricks, metal and other surfaces.

' The usual methods of preparingvanadic a oxide catalysts consist in employing solutions of ammonium vanadate or of vanadic oxide in various acid solvents and impregnating porous materials, for example, asbestos, pumice, etc., drying the asbestos and the 55 pumice and igniting the same afterwards, by which process the asbestos and the pumice and other rous material is impregnated with vanadlc oxide. In many operations the low fusing point of the vanadic 4o oxide has been found to be a disadvantage, and it has been attempted to provide a vanadic oxide catalyst of a higher fusing point by mixing in certain quantities of iron or iron compoundaas provided by British '45 Patent 5174 of 1913.

I have found that a very superior a- Application filed May 7, 1920. Serial No. 379,545.

lyst can be prepared by im re atin infusorial earth with vanadic o ide i 'Inf dsorial earth 1s oom osed largely of silica together with iron, a umina, calcium, magnesia and some alkalies, the silica existing chiefly as such and a portion .forming polysilicates with the base. According to my invention this infusorial earth is put into molten vanadic oxide in a crucible, .whereu nit absorbs a large proportion of vana ic oxide; the particles of-the infusorial earth when separated by grinding or byallowing the particles to cool and solidify without touching each other, produce a catalyst that is not easily friable and has a high point of fus1on. The subdivided mass ma -contain, for example, 1 part of infusoriaf earth to 3 parts of vanadic oxide. The resulting cata lyst is, in many cases, more active than the ordinary powdered or fused vanadic oxide, and is for this reason applicable for use in more varied forms of a paratus and for the catalysis of a number 0 oxidation reactions. I claim:

1. A process of producing a catalyst.

which comprises impregnating infusorial earth with molten vanadio oxide.

2. A process of producing a catalyst composed at particles of infusorial earth impregnated with vanadic oxide which oom- .;prises bringinginfusorial earth into contact with vanadic oxide while the latter is in a molten condition, and then cooling and subdividing the resulting mass.

3. A catalystcomprising a mixture of one part of .infusorial earth and about three parts of vanadic oxide. f

4. A catalyst comprising infusorial earth impregnated with fused vanadic oxide. 5.1 A catalyst comprising a mixture of one part of infusorial earth and about three arts of fused vanadic oxide, said mixture ing in a fine'state of sub-division. In testimony whereof l affix my signature. 

